Apologies to Dott. Nick Pechonkin, Executive of the Russian Federation International Office and with whom we maintain contacts of correspondence for the TRE TORRI operation, for having borrowed his name in our opening spirited title, where we associated Ezio Gamba’s Russian platoon, who in this edition as Technical Director will lead an overwhelmingly-winning and prestigious delegation to Porto Sant’Elpidio, to the famous “Battleship Potemkin”.

The TRE TORRI event is well known in Russia, last year Sergey Tabakov took part with a team worthy of respect and together with the equally titled Cuban women’s team achieved the men’s championship.

n the -60 kg category, the new 2009 Tblisi European Champion Arsen Galstyan, fights in what promises to be a truly boiling category. No easy feat for the azzurro athlete Marco Caudana in the team of the Fiamme Azzurre (Prison Officers’ Sports Club). In the -66kg category, Tblisi Bronze and 5th in the Beijing Olympic Games, Alim Gadanov, finds himself with the Absolute Champion of Italy, Francesco Faraldo.

In the -73 kg category, the men to beat are Kostantin Zaretskiy and Batradz Kaytmazov, competition in this category is always numerous and fiercely disputed; it will be of interest to see whether the Italians attending this 25th edition of the TRE TORRI competition will be able to achieve Marco Maddaloni’s position.

Our Neapolitan athlete, against his will, will not be with us for this 25th edition, in that he is busy with the National squad in a Talinn tournament. We are sorry for Marco Maddaloni who we know would have wanted to be here, we respect all technical decisions made by the team coach Felice Mariani, even though we obviously do not agree with them.

The Tblisi European Champion, Ivan Ninfotov, will take part in the -81 kg category, he who beat our Antonio Ciano. Our top athlete in this category competing with the Fiamme Gialle (Finance Police) Sports Club, winner of the TRE TORRI contest in 2005 and 2006, has indeed just won his first medal at the European championships in Tblisi. We would have liked to, a little more than a month later, give the Vice-Champion of Europe - Antonio Ciano, who unfortunately for us will have to be in Estonia - a chance at a return match,. Certain for a better future, we will put this date off till next year.

The return of the winner of the previous edition, Sirazhudin Magomedov, will make the -81 kg contest one of great standard; it will be a great trial and interesting test for the 2005 Cairo World Vice-Champion, Francesco Bruyere who has landed in this category in the 2009 Italian Absolute Championships, it will be just as interesting to see the Azzurro Giovanni Alessio at work.

Another judoka of the Russian team, a difficult client for whoever finds himself opposite him in this -90 kg class, is Ivan Pershin, 5th and just an inch from the podium at the Beijing Olympic Games, 7th at the recent European Games in Georgia. The Russian, Pershin, will be, in our judgement, the man to beat in this class.

In the -100 kg category, there will be the new 2009 Tblisi European Champion, Tagir Khabulaev, together with fellow countryman, winner of the previous edition of the TRE TORRI competition, Askhab Kostoev.

For the team of Camerano Judo Club, the Italian-Cuban, Yosvany Despaigne, silver in the last edition of the TRE TORRI, will have to overcome many obstacles in order to arrive at this year’s podium, and not least that one of the 2009 Italian Absolute Champion, Alberto Borin. The -100kg will be a great contest to follow.

Questions on predictions are difficult: who is going to win in the Heavyweight category? The 2008 World Open Vice-Champion, in France already World Champion three times, Alexander Mikhaylin, winner of the previous edition of the TRE TORRI in front of the Hungarian – Bor Barna - or the 2007 Rio de Janeiro World Vice-Champion, bronze at Sydney 2000, silver at Athens 2004, Tamerlan Tmenov?